Monday, August 24, 2009

A word about survival firearms

While the subject has been covered before, there is an excellent discussion of the usefulness of the AK-47 (and its variants) over at Survivalblog.com. 
This is my choice in assault weapons.  I choose it for dependability.  I chose it b/c I do not require marksmanship accuracy in my region of the US (wooded).  I chose it b/c it's easy to shoot. Rusty had this to say about dependability:
Just how important is dependability? On March 23rd, 2003, a convoy of the 507th Maintenance was ambushed at Nasiriyah, Iraq. Aside from the fact that 11 American soldiers were killed and 6 taken POW, the US Army's after action report found that every single American firearm had been rendered inoperable by the desert conditions. M2s, M4s, M16s, and the SAW-all of them were found to be nothing more than good-looking clubs during the battle. Of course, the Iraqi Kalashnikov didn't have the problems the American firearms had, and they held the field after the remnants of the 507th high-tailed it out of Nasiriyah. There have been other noted incidents of M4s and SAWs failing in the desert conditions of Afghanistan and Iraq. One has to wonder how many Americans have paid the ultimate price over the last 40+ years dealing with such an unreliable weapon.

In conclusion, the M4/AR15 is a excellent range rifle or SWAT weapon, but unless you intend on cleaning the firearm numerous times a day, which is doubtful in a SHTF situation, it is best to go with an AK or other dependable rifle and take a pass on the finicky M4 platform. -
___
Not every AK variant is accurate or reliable enough to use however.  Just b/c it's an AK doesn't mean it will function as designed.  Take yours out to the range and find out how accurate it is.  It will take time and training to use it well.  If yours is awful, get another.  I think that the AK has to be the best "survivor" rifle in a total SHTF scenario.  If you have time to clean and maintain any gun, then it hasn't hit the fan.  I think though there is hope for those of you who bought into the AR15 platform.  I've read that using teflon lubricant after a very good cleaning helps minimize dust and gunk accumulation- I use teflon spray on all my firearms and I am always surprised at how clean they are after a long day of training.

Check out Gabe Suarez's forum.  Good info there on the AK. (you have to register)
In the news:
at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)